A Home and Happiness

There seems to be a lot of interest nowadays amongst people about taking up residence in a home. People used to be satisfied with just a place to lay their head down in some corner of Erinn, but it sure seems like things have changed as of late.

Sure, sitting around a campfire on the hills with other adventurers looking up at the stars in the sky can be pretty romantic but I guess it's only natural for people to want to spend time with people they like in a safe and cozy place.

So in this guide, we will review the significance of, and guide you through the path to becoming a home dweller.

The Significance of a Home

Below are some of the ways people define and find significance in their home.

My Own Comfortable Resting Place

Living in a home certainly provides emotional comfort especially coming from the nomadic lifestyle but there are much more practical and basic values that are inherent in living in a home. That is that a home is a person's own resting place away from all distractions.

At home, you will not have to worry about being attacked by monsters, nor do you have to be bothered by unwelcome visitors. You can build your home in the shape that you want, and you can decorate the interior in any style that you want, not to mention the configuration of the furniture etc. which can all be customized to suit your taste and style.

Regardless of the weather outside, the home is kept at a comfortable temperature and offers a comfortable amount of light, and protects anyone that is inside it.

The home guarantees a variety of conveniences and provides a comfortable resting place, and has deep significance for a person as a space to re-charge one's mind and body.

A Place to Socialize

Homes that are built well and are maintained well by its owner is also a great place to socialize. You can invite your close friends and throw parties, rest at home and enjoy conversations, and even bring out your valuables to share in discussing your accomplishments. These are just some examples, and I am certain that readers like you can think of a great many more examples of ways that a home is a place to help socialize with others.

A home is more than a mere place to eat, rest and sleep and aside from the materialistic benefits that a home provides us physically there is a much more significant benefit that comes with a home such as the socialization and sharing that happens in the home.

A Basic Way to Grow your Wealth

A home is also a useful way to grow your wealth.

Have you heard of the spirit fairies called Brownies who supposedly manage homes? Certain types of Brownies exhibit great talent and skill in spinning and weaving, metal refining etc., and if you enter into a contract with such a skilled Brownie, you will have the added benefit of acquiring high-quality products by merely offering some raw materials.

Once your Brownie is settled into your home she will use whatever manufacturing equipment you have in the home and use whatever materials you provide for her to use to create some great products, saving the owner's precious time.

Once a product is completed as such, not only is the product usable for personal use but it is a sellable commodity in the market. Of course it is also possible to invite your close friends over to your home to show them the products before you sell it to them.

Furthermore, while the Brownie is making the products the owner can engage in other commercial activities which helps to save some time as well.

Just by making good use of your Brownie fairy, you can acquire greater returns in products which will help you achieve wealth at a faster pace, than those without a Brownie.

A Measure of One's Position in Society

The first thing you think of when you hear the word 'home' is stability and security.

This means that you are now finally through with your ventures as a nomad, and that you are settling into a place that you can always return to. For a Milletian who was born as an advernturer, to become a home dweller, means that you are no longer living your life as a wanderer.

You can look at this from a different perspective, that is, that home residence provides you with a new social identity. Taking up residence in a home costs a lot of money, and someone who is able to afford such an expensive purchase would be considered either innately diligent or a greatly skilled individual and that is because home dwellers are often individuals who have had great successes in their adventures. It's a universal law that the person who works hard at what they do makes that much more money.

Sense of Accomplishment

A home dweller who enjoys all its benefits is full of confidence. This is due to all of the benefits we have discussed earlier.

No longer are the days of aimless wandering, a home dweller can rest easy in his/her own space, he/she can invite friends to socialize, use the home as a means to expand one's wealth and even be granted with a boost in one's social status, so why wouldn't a home dweller have a solid sense of accomplishment?

It is only natural that one's dwelling place would provide psychological balance.

How to Become a Home Dweller

How then, does one become a home dweller? And what do people do to purchase a home?

Let's Move to a Home

You can purchase a house in your new residential homeland. The Dugald Residence on the East of Dugald Aisle is a good example. But that doesn't mean that just anyone can purchase a home, nor does it mean that you can take up residence in just any home.

Purchasing a home means that you are purchasing the right to live in the home from the Lord of the Castle, as a resident. There are people who are already living in homes, and even if no one is currently residing in a home it may be vacant while remodeling and/or other reasons.s

In essence, in order to purchase a home you must bid on a home that is open for bidding then be chosen for bidding the highest price.

How to find a home that is open for bidding

Please be careful to note that you need to find a home that is open for bidding, not necessarily just vacant A home without an owner is not open for bidding, and therefore is not available to bid on. Remember that homes become open for bidding by the Lord of the Castle within the corresponding area.

If a home is left vacant for a long time without any notices for taking bids, the quickest solution is to go to the closest guild and/or Lord of the Castle in the region to find out more about the house.

Check on your Cash Reserves at the Bank

Erinn is a vast land but there are not enough houses to go around for everyone living here.

Houses are limited resources and therefore only individuals who can afford the value of the house can reside in them. So in order to reside in a home, you will first need to accumulate a lot of money. I cannot say just how much exactly because the price fluctuates depending on the amount of money that is bid on the house The amount of money required for each house is different although the rule that you will need a lot of money still holds true...

This does not mean that you have to have all of your money in cash Carrying cash around with you could cause you to lose your money in some unfortunate accident and because carrying around the amount of cash needed to purchase a home could be rather difficult so all the processes of purchasing a home take place through the bank.

Bidding

Once you find a house that you like and is open for bidding you can apply to bid with the money that you have prepared for purchasing a home.

You are basically paying for the right to live in that house for a certain amount of time, i.e. four years to be exact. The right to live in the house is given to one individual who is the highest bidder on the house by the final bidding date. The bid amount, of course, must exceed the listed minimum bidding price. If your bid is not high enough to be the highest bidder, your money will be returned. Not to worry.

One other thing, it is important to know exactly when the bidding ends. You might lose your right to live in the home by finding out about the winning bid too late and being late on taxes.

Taxes

If you become a resident of a house, you will be responsible for making tax payments. Taxes are due to the Lord of the Castle in your region. To be more specific, it is a regularly scheduled payment to the Lord of the Castle of Dugald as a symbol of one's appreciation for granting you the right to move into the house.

Taxes are due annually, therefore, you will be responsible for paying taxes 4 times throughout the period of 4 years in Erinn time.

Taxes are paid through the Brownie of the house. No matter how much money you have in your bank, or how much cash you have in your possession, the Brownie will not be able to make your tax payments unless it is in the form of an asset that the Brownie can touch so please be aware.

The amount of money it takes to take up residence in a home and costs for remodeling can become quite a financial burden so please stay on top of your own situation before taking on a home.

For your reference, the taxes you are paying are calculated by construction costs not by the amount you bid on your home so one thing you can do to minize your taxes might be to choose a small and plain house.

Some Misunderstandings about being a Home Resident

We have reviewed some of the significance of living in a home and some ways that you can obtain a home to live in. But we still have the issue of some of the misconceptions about living in a house. We will now go over some of these misconceptions.

Leasing Right, not Ownership Rights

First of all, the houses are described as 'my home' but you are really leasing the home, not owning it. As a piece of construction over land, these houses are still publicly owned property. Regardless of how much money you had spent on obtaining the winning bid, the house does not become your own property. You have bid on the right to live in that house for 4 years, not on the right to own the house outright.

As a result, when 4 years have passed and your contract has expired, you lose all your rights to that home. Therefore, it would be wise to take out all of your furniture and cash before the expiration of your lease. Other than that, the winning bidder can use this home as if he/she owns it.

So what happens if you remain in the house after 4 years have passed? You will forcibly be evicted and all of your belongings, including furniture and other assets, will be taken to the bank. Of course you will be able to get your belongings back from the bank. That is, as long as you are able to pay a 5% fee.

Information regarding the lessee are not available

Information concerning how many lessees the house has had, how much each lessee had paid to take up residence there, what the highest bid has been so far etc. are not publicly available.

It may be that this may cause frustrations for some people who really want to lease a home but many negative effects can be anticipated in the event such information became available.

Once the identity of the bidders are revealed, people may try to bribe or convince the lessees to exchange their home for some gift, plus, the prices may go up too rapidly right toward the end of the bidding which may later become a huge liability for everyone involved.

This policy is meant to protect the privacy of all bidders and is a measure to keep unnecessarily fierce competition over the houses.